Obama sets the G20 agenda

Barack Obama may be heading into the final two years of his US presidency as a political lame-duck, but his impact in Brisbane shows he remains a driving force on the world stage.

When the US president swaggered into town on Saturday for the G20 leaders' summit, climate change was not on the official agenda set by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who's sceptical of man-made climate change.

But in the G20 leaders' communique, issued on Sunday, is a recommendation that governments contribute to a UN fund to help poorer countries tackle climate change.

It's understood Mr Obama was supported by other world leaders, but not Mr Abbott, when he argued for the communique to make a stronger stance on climate change, including eventually eliminating fossil fuels.

Mr Abbott would not go into details when asked about the discussions that were behind closed doors.

"As for coal, without going into the details of who said what to whom and exactly what intervention was about what subject, I should remind everyone that right now there are 1.3 billion people right around the globe who have no access whatsoever to electricity," Mr Abbott said.

Speaking at the University of Queensland on Saturday, the first US president to visit Brisbane since Lyndon B Johnson in 1966, announced his government had pledged $3 billion pledge to the UN fund.

In his landmark Brisbane speech, Mr Obama directly challenged Mr Abbott to step up, saying no other country in the Asia Pacific had more at stake than Australia, before urging the auditorium of mainly students to raise their voices.

Mr Obama said the US and Australia shared a legacy of wide open spaces, a frontier mentality and an incredible abundance of resources.

"So historically we have not been the most energy efficient of nations. Which means we've got to step up," he said.

In the face of Mr Abbott insisting the summit was about "growth and jobs", Obama had ensured the issue was elevated to the top of everyone else's agenda.